England trail Australia by 195 after day one of must-win third Test; Mark Wood takes five-for on return to Test side as tourists dismissed for 263; Mitchell Marsh hits 118 after being dropped on 12.
Mark Wood made a scorching entrance into the Ashes series with a five-wicket haul as England dismissed Australia for 263 on an engrossing opening day of their must-win third Test at Headingley.
England – 2-0 down in the five-match series after back-to-back defeats at Edgbaston and Lord’s – unleashed Wood (5-34) for the first time since December and he lit up Leeds during a devastatingly quick 11.4 overs as he grabbed his maiden Test five-for on home soil.
Ben Stokes’ team closed on 68-3 in reply to trail by 195 with Joe Root (19no) and Jonny Bairstow (1no) unbeaten on their home ground after the dismissals of Zak Crawley (33), Ben Duckett (2) and Harry Brook (3) on another breathless day of Test cricket.
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Bairstow was a headline act after his controversial stumping dismissal at Lord’s on Sunday – the chorus of boos Australia captain Pat Cummins and wicketkeeper Alex Carey received showed home fans had not yet moved on and Bairstow made sure he stayed in his crease this time around – but England’s star was undoubtedly Wood.
The Durham quick crunched Australia opener Usman Khawaja’s leg stump with a 95mph thunderbolt and touched 97mph during a searing morning burst – every ball he bowled was in excess of 90mph with his spell the second-fastest in England since 2005, while he also found notable movement with the Dukes ball.
Wood then returned in the evening to poleaxe Mitchell Starc (2), Cummins (0), Carey (8) and Todd Murphy (13) as Australia crumbled from 240-4, losing their final six wickets for 23 once Mitchell Marsh (118 off 118) – dropped on 12 by Root at slip – fell after smashing 113 runs in the afternoon session to rally his side from 85-4.
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Mark Wood, fellow recalled seamer Chris Woakes (3-73) and Stuart Broad (2-58) had struck in the morning – Broad removing David Warner (4) for the 16th time in Tests from the fifth ball of the day and then dismissing Steve Smith (22) in the batter’s 100th Test.
England’s total of dropped catches/missed stumpings has now stretched to 15 for the series – but thanks to Wood they remain very much alive as they bid to become just the second team to win the Ashes from 2-0 down, after Don Bradman’s 1936-37 Australia side.
Australia will retain the Ashes with a draw and secure a first series win in England since 2001 with victory having won last month’s opener at Edgbaston by two wickets and then triumphed by 43 runs in the second Test at Lord’s.